Shackled Promises
by Dark ring of hope
Summary: Promises are meant to be kept, and i know the one given to me will be, but now that the stage is set and our lives are on the line, i just wonder if we'll live to keep it. Squeal to ABS! Kurama, Yoko X OC
1. Chapter 1: so normal

OKay so this is the first chapter of Shackled Promise The Sequal to ABS - so if you have not read that you should cause this wont make much scents if you dont. lol.

this story will be a little slow to update just so you know cause i start collage in a month and i have a bunch of stuff to do but i should be able to update every 1-2 weeks.

as always please Review they make me feel all fuzzy insdide and help me update.

hope you enjoy the first chapter!

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Shackled Promise 

_I never thought about the other side of a coin when it came to things I truly believed in, because doing so would only cause doubt. Many people do look at the other side of things and many of them end up going down that path, so I would turn and looked towards the way things had been planned._

_Laying there in the darkness of my cell, I believed the way I always had. I was not one to change my way, nor one to stop believing in precious promises that were made to me. And so I pushed away all of those thoughts. _

_But even if I don't look at the other side of the promise that was made to me back then, things can still happen that can delay it from happening. And even with pain in my body and the chains on my wrists, the weight on my chest did not keep me down – it only lifted me higher. _

**Chapter One**

Dreams for me had always been one of the best parts of the night. Because in dreams you could be anywhere, be anyone and do anything that your mind thought up. Pain, fear, and troubles were detached in sleep and are often conquered in dreams.

But one had to be able to sleep for long periods of time for that to happen and one never gets much sleep when it comes to living in a dorm room.

The rather monotonous music being played from the floor above my room had, once again, woken me up too early. The steady beat of the bass and the tune of the song were not unpleasant, but that could easily change when one had been up half the night studying for a math test.

With a tired groan I rolled over on my small bed, glancing at the clock. I could hardly stifle the curses that ran through my head. It seemed I had three hours before my first class. Three hours! And that class was just a PE class. Feeling annoyed and pissed from lack of sleep, I did the only thing that came to mind. I complained.

"Reka…" I mumbled to my roommate and close friend that lay stretched out on the bed opposite of mine. The lump of covers moved slightly and black hair shifted on the covers.

"What?" she grumbled.

"I thought you said your demonic power would keep sound out." I heard her sigh; it seemed that the female demon had thought the same thing.

"I guess there are sounds that even sound proof rooms can't block out… I should go knock those boys silly…" she mumbled, before turning over and putting one of her fuzzy dark blue pillows over her head in protest to the music.

It had always seemed that my luck had been bad, and of course it did not cease when it came to the selection of our dorm rooms. The building we were staying in was a co-ed dorm building; the bottom five floors were girls only and the top five were boys only. It just so happened that Reka and I had gotten a room on the top floor of the girl's section of the building.

As Reka has put it so bluntly before when things like this happened, I was having another case of 'black cat syndrome'. Which by the way made no sense and there were no facts saying that black cats were bad luck. Then again with Reka being a demon, maybe she knew something I didn't – either way, I still had bad luck.

With no hope of falling back asleep I sat up and slipped from my bed, throwing on a pair cargo pants and a t-shirt. I could care less about what I wear, as long as it was clean. Turning, I sloppily made my bed again, slipped on my shoes and then grabbed my phone before heading out of the room.

I knew from experience Reka would join me for breakfast in about a half hour, she just had an even worse time dragging herself out of bed then I did.

With a sleepy yawn I walked down the four flights of stairs to get out of the dorms. On my way I had to dodge large amounts of object being thrown between doors, and try not to get knocked over by a student that was late for a class. It seemed that my time in high school, learning to get through crowed hall ways without being trampled, was finally starting to pay off.

When I was finally outside I strutted toward to cafeteria, still rather happy that the food here was not only completely edible but good, unlike high school food tended to be. The campus was small, and I was always very grateful for that because this meant I could walk and not ride a bike from place to place.

The buildings were large, full of red and black stone and large windows. Classes were cool and though I had decided not to go into acting as my major I was looking into journalism. All in all things hadn't really changed for me that much; I still struggled with math, still didn't mind school and still had my best friend who just happened to be a demon. The only thing that had truly changed for me was the absence of my boy friend – a red headed fox demon that had left to go back to his home in Japan about a year ago.

After paying for my normal breakfast of some waffles and bacon, I sat down at one of the many blue tables and started eating.

The last time I had heard from Kurama was a week ago when he had made a long distance call to wish me happy nineteenth birthday. He seemed to be doing okay; he was working for his step-father's import/export company, and at the time had said he didn't know when he would call me again.

He hadn't told me when he would come back for me either though, and sometimes that nagged at the back of my mind. But I knew he would keep his promise and that he did still care about me – if he didn't he wouldn't call me every weekend. It was still hard though, I'd had to turn down a lot of guy's requests for dates because I was taken, even if the person who I was with was half way around the world.

I was loyal and that was something I always stayed true to.

"Alana!" A voice called out and I blinked raising my head to see one of my newer friends walking up to me. Her name was Cassidy, and she was the cover image for one of those party people. Her brown hair was cut short, it barely covered her ears, a black and white bandana was pulled over her head and her green eyes held the same spunky attitude she always had.

Walking next to her was her boy friend, Nathan, the typical bad-boy with crazy black hair dyed purple and hanging over his brown eyes. When I'd met him he'd ended up saving me from a few pushy jocks and then introduced me to Cassidy. He grinned at me setting down his food and sitting across from me. Cassidy sat next to him with her plate as well.

"You're up early. Get blasted awake again?" Cassidy asked and I grimaced before I nodded my head with a sigh. Nathan laughed covering his mouth because he had food in it. I eyed him, annoyed, before he swallowed and snickered a bit.

"Why don't I go back to the dorms with you and talk to them again?" I groaned at the mere thought.

"Because last time you beat the shit out of them and almost got me kicked out of my own dorm room because the head master thought I hired you," I growled at him and he grinned again. Cassidy laughed, smacking the back of his head.

"Right, well… I won't do it this time," he grumbled. I rolled my eyes and did not reply to him. I guessed it wouldn't hurt him to do it this time though. I would stay in my room and let him do it himself.

After a short time Reka joined us and Nathan complained about being the only guy at the table, which of course sent us in to a cycle of roaring laughter.

And as the saying goes, time did fly.

"Sorry guys I've got to go and get ready for PE," I said getting up and stretching. Reka nodded and Cassidy smirked.

"See you in math class Alana."

I groaned and hunched my shoulders, making them laugh again as I trailed out of the building and towards the gym.


	2. Chapter 2: taken

chapter two was done a lot fast then i thought it would be... oh well enjoy and R&R

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Chapter Two: Taken

It was times like these that I really wish college took up my free time.

So that I would know what day it was, or what time it was, or have time to worry about shallow and petty things. Things that I knew would happen and were rather absurd at that.

…Then why had I been staring at the phone like some crazy person for the past hour?

It was Sunday the only day Kurama had work off, and it was seven P.M.; the normal time he called me. But he had yet to and so on that note my mind started coming up with all of these reason for him not to call.

Was he hurt? Had something happen to his family? Was he fighting some unknown demon? Was he laying somewhere bleeding to death?! Or worse: was he cheating on me?!

I groaned and turned over on my bed stuffing a pillow over my face. This was insane! He was fine, he wasn't cheating on me; he wasn't that kind of a person. He was probably out doing something instead of spending money making a long distance call.

Maybe we should start doing email…

I huffed again and then I heard a sigh. For a moment everything was quiet in the room. Then the pillow was yanked from my face and a pale hand came down and pulled me into a sitting position. Blinking I stared into the eyes of one annoyed looking Reka. Oh dear, this couldn't end well. She crossed her arms looking at me with a hard expression. I smiled slightly, making the mistake of looking at my phone.

"That's it! I'm taking you to go see a movie or to get ice cream or something! You need to stop acting like this before I slap you silly!" I blinked before smiling slightly at her. She was right after all.

"Ice cream sounds good…" I hardly had time to finish my sentence before Reka grinned and pulled me up. I turned for a second and grabbed my phone before I was practically dragged from our dorm room.

I had to admit when it came to Reka she didn't take no for an answer and so we drove across town to the small ice cream shop. It had been a good idea and while Reka went with her triple chocolate and caramel ice cream I went for some rainbow sherbet. We ate quietly for a while on the bench outside before Reka asked me the question I had been expecting.

"What's with you anyway? You know Kurama better than you give yourself credit for, and yet you hang on to stuff that would never happen – what's the deal?" I smiled slightly at my friend; it was so hard for me to really see her as a demon sometimes because for the longest time in my eyes she hadn't been. But it made sense now, she'd always been too wise for someone her age and I'm sure a few hundred years could fix that.

"I know…" I muttered finally staring as my feet as I took another bite of the cone "I guess it's because I can't see him wanting to stay with me…" I stopped her before she could say anything. "I mean I know he likes me but I'm human and I won't live near as long as him… I don't want him to grieve over me after I'm gone."

After all even though Kurama would be gone, Yoko would still live and when it came down to it they were the same people, Yoko just seemed to be the colder part of him that had trouble with human manners. Being the same person meant I loved Yoko just as much as I loved Kurama.

The sudden snicker from Reka surprised me and I looked up to see her smiling at me. "What?" I grumbled. Did she really find my reasoning so childish? So silly? I didn't find it silly. She shook her head.

"You don't need to worry about that happening, trust me he will make it so you live as long as he does." I blinked confused.

"But how?" I pondered that for a moment suddenly seeing a senile old women standing next to Yoko and cringing mentally.

Reka hummed a bit finishing her cone. "He'll Mark you." I blinked, confused by the term. She giggled at the face I made. "It's like a demon's wedding ring. The male normally bites the female and leaves a tattoo like marking where ever the bite is." I frowned looking at her. It was a little odd but I could see the benefits to it. For one you couldn't lose it.

"But how would that make me live as long as him?" Reka shifted a bit getting comfortable.

"Well because you're human, there is a kind of side effect when you're marked," she frowned a bit trying to find the best way to explain it. "You see even though you're human, you have demonic genes hidden in your DNA – they're just not active so it's like they don't exist. When a human is marked, the venom used to make the mark also kind of awakens the demonic genes and thus turns that person into a demon. Though the process of that can be a bit painful at times the burst of demonic energy heals any wounds you might have. It's really an interesting process."

By the end of the explanation my mouth was gaping open at her. Me, a demon? That was something I would have never foreseen if I had guessed all my life. "So I wouldn't get old faster than him?" I finally muttered. She shook her head.

"Nope. You'd age, yes, but when demons are full grown our aging slows. Every one human year of aging takes a demon a hundred," she said smiling.

Part of me was worried about all of this but that was drowned out by the interest I had and all the questions I had for her. "Is there a way of telling what kind of demon I would be?" I asked unable to help myself. She laughed a bit rolling her eyes.

"Well you'd be human like because you were human, but depending on what you would be might add features or change them slightly." She pondered for a moment. "You're no fox demon like Kurama sadly; fox are very cunning and take a lot of risks – you really don't do either…."

I glared at her. "Oh gee thanks, Reka."

She laughed a bit rubbing her head. "Only the truth" she pointed out, before pursing her lips. "You could very well be some kind of dog or wolf – they're normally very loyal and competent," she sighed. "I'm not really sure – it's just a guess."

As we drove back I was kind of quiet; I couldn't seem to get my head out of what we'd been talking about. It was all too much, but still it made me feel so …wanted. Not that I wasn't wanted but still.

Oh the other hand I didn't know if I could deal with being a demon. I mean sure I'd live for who knows how long and I'd have Kurama and Reka there with me, but what about my family? What could I say to them when they realized I had stopped aging? I'd have to watch them die over time and keep secrets from them the whole time.

After a moment I felt something wet slide down my face and I flinched, raising my hand and whipping at it. Reka frowned glancing over to me, worried. "Hey you okay?"

I nodded slightly not sure why I was crying. Because, in the long run I knew I had already made my choice. Reka frowned a bit and rather hesitantly turned her gaze back to the road.

And then we were sent flying.

I didn't see what had caused it, all I know is that suddenly it seemed like the car engine blew apart, and the car seemed to split in two. Then Reka and I were sent flying into the air.

I screamed, unable to see, only to feel something slice into my shoulder and then the wind whistling in my ears as I flew down towards the ground. Hitting the ground was worse though, because the pain was swallowed up by the agony that fallowed; there was a crunching sound in the wrist which I had just landed on. The ringing in my ears was low and I couldn't seem to open my eyes just yet.

I heard Reka growl and hiss, and then there were footsteps, and an explosion and a scream.

I bolted up, ignoring the pain as I did so, my eyes scanning the dark road. There weren't any other cars – it was late and no one really traveled this road unless they went to the college. My eyes focused slowly, and I saw Reka laying on the ground, unmoving and a large hole in her shoulder. I gasped, stumbling up and trying to get to her.

"Reka…" I whispered, but didn't move very far before seeing the figure standing a few feet in front of her. He was very beautiful and that only caused me to worry.

His hair was short; it stood up slightly in spiky tufts of glossy black hair that curled around pointed ears. Carmel toned skin surrounded sharp violet purple eyes. His lower face was covered, a mask pulled over his nose and mouth that stopped over his eyes and under his jaw line. Slanted slits were near the mouth and I could just barely see sharp teeth. The rest of him was covered in black; a flowing cloak trailed behind him as his deadly gaze turned to me.

I gasped slightly scuttling back as he moved towards me, a hand glowing. A demon. Another stupid demon was after me. Well okay so it was the first demon… the other had been a tainted angel… but that was beside the point.

"Come here little human," his voice was muffled from the mask, but it still sent chills running up and down my spine. I knew I couldn't out run him, I was trapped and with every step he took I could feel Death's hands creeping closer.

And then my cell phone rang.

With speed I didn't know I had I yanked the phone out of my pocket, glanced at the number and then answered it. "Kura-"

That's all I got out before the phone was ripped from my hand and a foot collided with my gut. I gasped a bit before falling to the ground, my world fading around me quickly. The only thing I could make out was the demon speaking into my phone.

"Yoko Kurama, I presume. If you want to see you precious human alive again, you will come to the Death Hallow Caverns tomorrow at noon. If you aren't there, she will die the way you should have."


	3. Chapter 3 : Relief

woot for chapter three! time for point of view change inspired by James Patterson's books

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Chapter three: relief

Pure Anger.

That's what Kurama felt as he ran through the forest of demon world. Even the name seemed to mock him – this Forest of Fools. But the name did not bother him, really, he wasn't paying attention to that. He hardly paid attention to his surroundings at all, and he knew quite well that was a foolish choice, but he was too wrapped up in his mind to really focus on anything else. He'd been like that since last night, a night he was sure we would not forget for a long time.

If only he'd called her sooner.

If only he didn't have so many enemies.

If only he hadn't left her unprotected.

Then maybe he wouldn't have felt the horror he did when he had heard her cut off scream, and the voice of her captor speaking to him through the phone about black mail.

It was his fault, and he knew it. He'd left Alana – the girl he proclaimed to love- to fend for herself. To a point, he guessed he was being a bit over dramatic; Reka had been there, and she was a fairly powerful demon. Kurama had though she would be able to keep Alana safe while he was away. He had been wrong of course, after all Reka was a defensive demon, her powers centering on healing and barriers. He had been hoping her demonic power level would have been enough to keep demons away.

But that's why he was in this mess – he had been foolish and wrong and now Reka lay in a bed at Genkai's. That in it self had been a close call. Kurama had gotten Koenma to get him a portal over to the spot where Alana's last phone call had been, but by the time he got there, she was gone and so was her captor. All he found was a smashed cell phone and Reka lying on the ground badly wounded.

Somehow Reka survived, but she had yet to awaken again. The wounds she had, Kurama remembered them from somewhere, but his mind was wheeling around to quickly for him to place it. He was sure he'd fine out anyway, after all this was what it was all about. Revenge – for a life he took from this time or possibly from his time as Youko. There were too many possibilities if that was true.

In a part of his mind a voice kept whispering to him that if he had just never gotten involved with Alana then she would be safe right now. Kurama shook his head slowing his pace to a fast walk. No he had wanted to be with her … and he had let it happen without even thinking of the consequences.

There was no real reason for him to keep mulling over it, there was nothing he could do now to undo this; even if he were to never have contact with her again, her life would still be in danger. All he could do was get her out and keep her safe after this. He didn't care what he had promised his family, he would never leave Alana again.

With that in mind he set his path to Death Hallows Cave. In his decades of life as Yoko he was well informed of these inner connected caves. He admitted it was nothing like the maze like caves where the spirit detective had fought Sensui; no that's not what Death Hallows was used for. Over the years he'd only heard of it being used for two things: a base for the black market where they sold lesser demons and humans among others things, and as a place for secret fights whose winners could choose rare prizes or valuable information.

He had never been there himself--he never saw a reason to stoop so low--but he shuddered at the thought of seeing Alana there. Still, never being there didn't mean he didn't know where it was. Kurama doubted there were any secrets still unknown to him.

The thick forest began to thin out after a long while and Kurama breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted the cave. It wasn't very well hidden if you knew where to look; the dark entrance was only covered by a few red vines. Through the vines Kurama could tell it was not so dark. He could see spots of light, probably made from torches.

Just as the fox demon was ready to enter the cave he felt that he wasn't alone. And he wasn't. From the darkness of a cave a demon appeared. His energy was too low to have defeated Reka, so he guessed that the green colored troll like demon was simply a guide for him. Kurama did not speak but as the demon turned it did.

"My master had been waiting for you," he griped his voice ruff and feeble. "Now you come." With that the demon gave a wave with clawed figures and started back into the cave. After a moment of careful observation the redhead followed.

As he had suspected the caves were lit with torches spread out every few yards and the only sound for a long time as they went through the winding path was the scuffing of their feet on the rough ground.

"Surprised you are alone," the demon croaked. "Master told me to be on the lookout for many with you, but there were none."

The redhead stayed silent; he had thought about asking for help but the truth was he felt this to be a private matter. Even if he had wanted help, it would have been poor timing. Yusuke was away on his honeymoon with Keiko, he hadn't been able to reach Hiei and though he was strong he doubted Kuwabara would be of much help. So Kurama had gone alone. He just hopped that it had been the right choice.

The troll demon didn't speak again as he lead Kurama into a large room lined with torches; metal bars of a holding sell – empty to his relief – was on one side and a chair on the other. Sitting in the chair was most defiantly Alana's kidnapper. Besides the trolls bow, the energy surrounding the demon was enough for him to tell. He surveyed the demon carefully – short hair, purple eyes, and a metal mask over most of his face … something in the back of Kurama's mind tried to place the demon, but he pushed it back.

The small demon left and the two remaining demons stared at each other for a few minutes, before the dark haired one uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. "Youko Kurama," he said snidely "I am so pleased to see you accepted my offer."

Kurama growled and spoke for the first time. "Offer? You gave me no choice! Now where is she?" Kurama was being calm, and that was hard for him, but he needed to see her face – to make sure she was alive.

The demon laughed slightly. "Forced? I think not. After all, you could have left the human here, most demons would have. Then again I suppose you aren't like most demons," he mused a bit eyeing the calm faced man, though his eyes and tone made it clear he was nothing but calm.

Kurama clenched and unclenched his hands trying to calm himself. "Where is Alana?" he said again, and the demon laughed but nodded his head; raising his hand he snapped his fingers, the sound echoing in the chamber.

A bright light formed as three torches were lit on the back side of the room, which made Kurama wonder why he hadn't realized the lit room was still shrouded in darkness. Though the thoughts were forgotten moments later when he saw her and part of him wished he hadn't.

Alana was on the floor, small amounts of blood all around her. Her hair and clothes were dirty and there was a line of dried blood on her forehead. She was cradling her left arm, where he saw a gash on the shoulder. There was a black collar on her neck he'd never seen before and a chain was on her ankle keeping her in that spot. Again he had to force himself not to lose whatever calm he still had as he stared at her. Even in her rumpled position on the floor he watched her eyes brightened and a small smile fell on her lips.

Something in the back of his head sighed in relief only looking at her condition, part of him wondered why.

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whats going to happen? and who is this charater who seems bound and determand to kill kurama? only i know! and you wont unless you review!! XD


	4. Chapter 4: cornered

so Tomorrow I'm leaving for Collage -looks likely frantic- so i dont know when i'll get the next chapter out, i'll have to see, but i hope to get it out soon any way .

Any way R&R as always

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Chapter four: cornered

Whatever relief Kurama felt at that moment was gone quickly. Raking his eyes over Alana he determined that she wasn't in danger of dying. Of course, that didn't stop the pain in his chest, because she was in pain. He needed to get her out of here that was one thing he knew for sure.

He knew just attacking the demon would be stupid though; it could kill him and Alana easily, and he didn't know anything about this demon so he didn't know the risk he was taking. It took effort though, his demonic blood wished to simply tear out his throat and then feed him to a plant for all he had done. Still, if he were to do so there was no telling what would happen to Alana, and if he was hurt too badly then he wouldn't be able to get her out very well. The best thing to do was to try and figure out a better way out of this.

The redhead tore his eyes from a barely conscious Alana to the demon in front of him. "What do you want?" his voice was cold again. Good. Now that he knew Alana was alive he could ease back in to his calm, calculating demeanor. The raven hair demon snorted, leaning forward he put a hand on his leg.

"I told you that on the phone dear Kurama, I want you dead."

A growl rose from the fox's throat as he eyed him. If that was his only reason then why did he have to involve Alana, why go through all of this to just get to him? Why not simply come after him? It was clear that the demon wanted far more than just his death; he was just toying with him

As if the demon had read his mind he spoke again. "My sources told me that you'll do anything if a loved one is in danger. I was originally going to go after your mother but you were smart enough not to leave her unprotected. I find it hard to believe that Raizen's son moved in two houses down with his mate just on coincidence."

At this Kurama could not help but smirk. Though, Yusuke _had_ been looking for a home and when Kurama told him of the conveniently vacant house on his street the brown eyed boy had laughed and said offhand 'Sure, then Keiko had learn some of your mom's recipes!' He'd always been able to depend on Yusuke when he wasn't around.

Resting his chin on a hand the demon started again. "But, a month ago my spies told me of a human girl that had caught your interested. I must say at first I didn't believe it: the girl was away from you and only a defensive demon was there to protect her," A laugh fallowed and Kurama grimaced, cursing his stupidity again.

"Why are you doing this? I don't even know you," Kurama said slowly, his eyes locked on the other demon's own. This was true: Kurama did not know this demon and so he was at a loss as to why this was even happening.

The demon hummed a bit the sound vibrating off of his silver mask. "How rude of me, my name is Aiden. You're correct in never meeting me, but you did know my father, before you killed him," Aiden snarled. At that and Kurama narrowed his eyes. Aiden was after revenge then, and he seemed to have a bit of a temper as well. That could work in his favor.

After all, foxes did tend to play with their food.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, I've killed a lot of people – any one of them could be your father." Green eyes swirled with gold with the amusement he felt as Aiden glared daggers at him. He waited for him to jump up and snarl like an animal, to jump at him fists flying. But as the moments ticked by the anger in Aiden's eye started to dim and to Kurama's surprise he started laughing. Head back, he laughed for a few good moments before finally sighing and eyeing Kurama once again.

It seemed this demon was truly insane.

"I can see why my father found you an interesting target Kurama. You love mind games just like he did."

Kurama scowled again. Apparently that was a dominate trait in Aiden's family. A smirk was visible through the slits of the medal mask. "Alright, I'll give you a clue. Watch carefully now," he directed.

Kurama did watch; he watched as Aiden lifted a tanned hand and then he snapped his fingers. The echo of the snap was never heard because it was drowned out by a scream. Whipping his head around Kurama caught sight of Alana right as her upper arm exploded.

He froze.

Pulse pounding in his ears, he watched Alana clutch her arm as blood poured out of a shallow hole in her arm. The agony, terror and shock on her face hit a nerve in him and suddenly the pieces fell into place. It was like looking in a mirror at his self years ago at the black tournament. He'd had those same kinds of wounds all over his body. He remembered how painful they were. It had been the one time he had been sure he was going to die.

Eyes drifting back to Aiden he could hardly believe he hadn't seen it before. In his eyes the boy's hair grew long and his skin turned white.

Karasu.

His body lurched slightly and amber bled into his green eyes. It took every ounce of restraint he had to not attack that vile creature's son. He so badly wanted to give him the same fate as his father.

But he knew that was a bad idea.

It had been by chance that he had won last time and now it wasn't just his life that was on the line. Alana was still there on the ground writhing in pain. Attacking Aiden would only risk her life more than was necessary.

Aiden smirked at the fox demon expression. "Don't worry, she's in no danger of dying. I only blew off the two top layers of skin, enough to cause pain and some blood loss, but nothing more than that," he said shifting slightly but still not getting up from his chair. "By the look know your face you know who I am now."

Kurama nodded shortly, the small relief that Alana's wound had stopped bleeding leaving him. If this boy was Karasu's son then it was safe to say that mind tricks most likely would be pointless on him. So, Kurama switched gears and turned his attention to getting information.

"I didn't know Karasu had a son," he said in an almost business like way. Aiden snorted before he finally stood up.

"Yes, well, not many knew much about him, except the men that forced him to fight in that wretched tournament." Kurama was slightly stunned by the boy's spite for the Dark Tournament. Most demons found the event quite entertaining. So what was he missing in this puzzle that was so important?

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," he said finally eyeing the boy. Aiden did not answer him for a long moment.

"It does not matter now – you still killed him so you will die." At those words the redhead tensed for a long moment and then Aiden chuckled. "Though to be fair I am going to give you a sporting chance."

Kurama was still for a long time; it would seem that his father's traits were strong in Aiden and that was worrisome. With Alana tied up and in risk of being slaughtered at any wrong move, he made sure Kurama had only one choice. Clenching his jaw, he spoke through gritted teeth.

"What did you have in mind?"


	5. Chapter 5: together

hahaha, I wouldn't be surprised if i had no readers left .; i am sooo sorry about like disappearing for 11 weeks. lol collage is consuming! anyway with winter brake coming up hopefully i'll have a chnce to up date. please forgive me!

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Chapter five: Together

It seemed like time wasn't moving in order. My vision was flashing, showing only pieces of the scene in front of me, like a broken projector in a movie theater. Flashes of their faces; of the one here to save me and the one who had blown a hole in my arm. I knew the pain of _that_ was there, as were the other pains caused by struggling and being punished for doing so. I was fairly sure the pain and the blood loss were why my eyes couldn't focus and why I kept blacking out.

But I wasn't worried about that. I wasn't worried about my injuries, or the fact that I could die at any moment at Aiden's flick of the hand. What I worried about was Kurama getting himself in to deep for my sake.

I had been so happy to see him; I had been so afraid that Aiden would kill me that I would never get to see Kurama again and that he would never be able to keep his promises. But the joy of seeing him was dimming as I saw his reactions, and the fact that he now stood in a lock of frigid looks only made it worse.

I watched them for a few more fuzzy moments before closing my eyes and simply listening. I listened and heard them breathing, calm, slow, tight breaths. Small amounts of water dripped to the ground. Minutes pasted without a word and despite myself I moved slightly, a small whimper echoed through my throat.

I heard someone exhale and then Kurama spoke.

"What did you have in mind?" he said flatly. Those words made me feel more sick then I had in a long time. Kurama was letting Aiden control the rules of this, and with that said I knew how this would turn out, for the mask wearing demon had told me his plan.

But still I listened hoping that I was wrong, that we could still get out of this.

"It's quite simple really," Aiden muttered. "Tomorrow, one of my best fighters is coming and if you can beat him then you can leave. If not, well..." he smirked.

"You won't touch her," Kurama almost snarled, making me wonder what Aiden had done. Aiden laughed.

"You should know I don't need to touch her. I don't even need to be near her, because if that collar around her neck leaves this cave or is tampered with, well the bomb on it will activate and you'll have a headless girlfriend," Aiden's laugh echoed though the caves, making me shiver so hard that I lost what hearing I had and dropped into darkness.

**. . .**

My dreams were unknown to me, I couldn't figure out what any of it meant. They were just flipping though randomly, so random in fact that once my mind began to wake again that I couldn't remember anyone of the scenes.

All I knew was that I was suddenly wake and there was pressure on the arm that Aiden had blown a hole in. I could hear someone moving a bit and then cloth was on my arm being tied. I groaned a bit, eyes cracking open and the hands paused.

"Alana?" Kurama's voice whispered. "Alana can you hear me?"

Like a breath of air was pushed into my lungs, I gasped, eyes open and focused. In front of me was Kurama, green eyes worried as he started at me. I blinked a few times before smiling slightly.

Relief washed over his face and he sighed letting his forehead rest against mine. The weight made me wince slightly but he didn't move; his breathing was low and even. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up," he whispered.

I frowned the best I could; reaching up with my good arm, I brushed the side of his face. "I'm not that easy to get rid of," I whispered hoarsely. He sighed sitting up after a moment of quiet.

I watched him as he finished bandaging my arm up, but I didn't look at my arm completely; I was afraid of what I might find. The redhead sighed, looking to me. "I saw blood on your back, are you hurt there?" he muttered. I nodded a bit "Can you sit up?" I nodded again and with a wince sat up, hissing in pain.

Kurama winced too before brushing his finger tips on my face. I could see the pain in his eyes but his face was carefully blank. After a moment he helped me with my shirt. It didn't matter, it was ruined and torn anyway.

I watched the fabric fall to the floor and then Kurama stood up and was behind me sitting down. I heard him growl at what he saw, I wasn't sure but I thought it looked a bit like my arm probably did... though it was bigger.

I frowned a bit as he brushed my mess of hair from my back, his hands leaving a tingle where ever they were. I didn't want him to feel like this but I didn't know what else to say to him. So I fished for a conversation after hearing him get more bandages out.

"Where'd all the bandages come from?" I joked weakly as I looked around the room. We were back in my cell it would seem. It was nothing more than a portion of one of the caves with metal bars running along the opening with a door built in. I realized with a slight sadness that Kurama was only still here because of me; a lock like that must be easy for him.

I felt his hands and the cotton like wrap on my back as he started covering the wound and then he answered me: "I was really hoping I wouldn't need them, but I'm always prepared," he muttered quietly. I frowned not liking the tone of his voice.

"Kurama, this isn't your fault," I said flatly and I felt his hands go ridged on my back. For a long moment he was still, and then he moved again to finish bandaging my back.

"Yes it is, Alana," he said firmly. "I left you unprotected, thinking that no one would know about you and that you would be safe for a while," he sighed, his hands dropping. "But I was wrong and now you're in danger again." I pressed my lips a bit before turning around to face him.

He looked a bit startled by the anger in my face. "Yeah I am in trouble, but you know what? I would live a life on the run if that meant I got to be with you," I whispered. "You don't seem to understand how much I need you, I've waited over a year to see you again and now you're sitting inches away from me and all you can say is how none of this should have happened?"

I frowned at him, and we stared at each other for a long time before he sighed looking down. "Doesn't really change the fact that you're here because of something I did in the past." He muttered. Sighing I reached up with my good arm and placed it on the side of his face.

"I don't care because I know you, and I know that no matter what you'll get us out of this," I whispered. "I mean if I didn't trust you would I really be sitting here with only a bra and pants on?"

He snorted a bit at that grasping my hand in his as he looked to me with fierce eyes. I smiled; my Kurama was back. "True, but you do realize that once we're out of here, you're not leaving my sights ever again," he muttered.

"Oh, possessive; and just how are you going to make that work?" I teased and a small smirk came on to his face as he reached up, his figures curling around the ring on a chain around my neck.

"Oh, I'll think of something."

I smiled a bit, shaking my head slightly. "Well, I guess you always do."

"Yes, I do."

I didn't get a chance for a comeback before his lips were suddenly down on mine. It had been such a long time since I'd kissed him and I spent many days picturing what it would be like to do so again. Granted, I had never thought we'd be in a cell, underground with impending doom over us. But none of that seemed to really take seed as my good arm curled around his neck and I kissed him back.

We completely forgot where we were at that moment and I was pulled closer to him, his hands in my knotted hair. He deepened the kiss, sending a shudder through my body. He pulled back after a while and sighed contently, pulling me closer into his lap as he wrapped me in a protective embrace.

I let my head rest on his chest, feeling safe for once in my last two days of horror. I sighed closing my eyes. "Is Reka okay?" I said suddenly, remembering my friend. He nodded a bit.

"She's fine," he muttered. I nodded a bit too, feeling tiered.

"He's not going to let you just... leave even if you win."

"I know. Don't worry everything will be fine, Alana. Get some sleep your safe," je muttered. I nodded slightly and complied wit his wishes, drifting off into a peaceful sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Who We Are

okay so i have no excuse for disappearing for.... way to long. School had just been really rough and i've been a sick a lot. i really hope someone is still reading this becuase i put a lot of effort into this one. this is the second to last chapter, just like i planned it to be. enjoy

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Chapter six: who we are

It seemed like some kind of trick, some sort of passage in a messed up book that was missing an ending. Without an ending a reader is left to wonder what comes next; what happens to the characters and how does the story come to a closure?

I remember thinking that as I laid awake for who knows how long in the prison of iron bars and cold rock, my eyes glued to the boy I loved and whose eyes were closed to the world as he slept, gaining what little rest he could before he fought for my freedom.

I had little clue of what Aiden had in store for him, but I knew it couldn't be good. I imagined many things in those few hours: monstrous demons with spikes and horns tearing at him. Savage beasts that would rush at him with whatever powers they had: scorching flame, stinging ice, burning acid.

But I knew what ever was in store for him he could beat. I had faith in him, that he wouldn't let anything stop him. He'd come this far to save me, I just hoped it would not be in vain.

I winced, grabbing at my arm and felt the chill of awareness that only I really knew. I knew Aiden wouldn't just let him go, the loss of his father was not something that could simply be pushed aside if Kurama won the fight that was sure to come.

And so I laid there, my hand over the bandaged arm and thought about the one thing that plagued me. What could I do to help him? When the time came I couldn't just sit here, acting like some wounded animal and wait for Kurama to somehow do it all on his own. Though I knew he probably could, or else he wouldn't have come. It didn't matter either way though. I had to help him; I didn't want him to have to suffer through what I had since I'd been taken.

Somewhere in the corner of my mind other worries were bubbling up, things like the fact that I had been missing for two days, missed classes and probably had my friends worried sick, if not my parents by now.

I shook my head a bit, grumbling slightly. This wasn't the time to be worrying about such things, and I knew that. My hand trailed up to the ring on its chain around my neck and clutched it, holding on to the little bit of hope we had left.

We just had to make it out of here; the only question was, how?

My thoughts shattered apart at I heard footsteps heading my way, the sound bouncing off the walls of the cave system, making them hard to trace. But I knew they were coming here, I had been waiting for the sound for a little while now, and ever since the light had snuck in through the holes in the cave ceiling.

Arms wrapped around me then and I twitched before looking up to see Kurama looking at me. I hadn't heard him wake up I'd been too focused on the footsteps. "It's alright," he muttered, and only then did I realize I was shaking.

It was true that I was terrified of my captor, and though my mind was past that, and working on ways out of here, my body still remembered the pain and the trauma Aiden had unleashed onto me, and so it trembled at anything he did, including walking.

I nodded a bit and he leaned down kissing the side of my neck, the blood pulsing violently within it, and then he let go of me and stood up as the footsteps got even closer.

I swallowed and bit my lip. "Please, be careful," my voice was quiet and he looked to me giving me a smile before nodding.

We waited in silence for a long moment, nothing but the footsteps ringing in the air. My mind worked to distract me from the terror around me, but it was unsuccessful.

He was there, dressed in his leather and metal, the mask over his mouth, his short, black spiked hair gleaming in the dim light. His eyes held a small amount of humor and I felt as though I could see the smirk underneath the metal her wore, and my fear mounted.

"Sleep well Kurama?" he asked calmly as he opened the door and walked into the cell. Kurama said nothing, his eyes glued to him like a cat stalking a mouse. Aiden chuckled without humor before he suddenly turned to me; with a yelp I realized he was suddenly in front of me. I screamed in terror falling backwards from where I had pushed myself into a crouch.

Kurama's snarl startled me but Aiden only raised an eye brow. "Now, Kurama you don't want her to be in here with you, trust me," he said and in one swift moment took out shackles and clamped them on to my arms. I made a sound of surprise and he snickered before he yanked me up by the chains and dragged me towards the door.

I glanced at Kurama, my mind working towards hysteria as he just stared back at me, his body tense and his eyes locked on the collar around my neck that kept him from doing anything. My feet skidded on the ground as Aiden yanked me out the door and then shut it, locking it behind him. He yanked on the chain again and tossed me backwards. I winced as I landed on the ground in a heap, my arm screaming in pain, my other wound being drowned out by it.

Still I pulled myself from the agony and tuned my head to see Aiden punching in a code on a key pad beside the cell. Each button made a loud, irritating beep that echoed in the air as he pressed on them. I watched him dial in six numbers before he pressed 'enter' and stepped back a bit.

My eyes went to Kurama who looked very nervous; his eyes darted around, his posture was tight and ready. But there was nothing there, no taps or any demons pouncing at him. For a moment I thought maybe nothing would happen and I prayed that it would be true.

But then there was a deep roar, like a water fall, and from the back side of the cell a concealed door opened. The rock moved upwards like a garage door. As it opened it seemed to reveal nothing but darkness, as empty as a black hole.

At first the deep throated snarl that I heard I thought I had imagined, but another snarl came only moments later as two shapes started moving in the darkness.

As much as I wanted too, I could not look to Kurama. My eyes would not move from the darkness as two creatures lit up the abyss and stepped out the door way. I could not be sure if they were feline or canine; they did not have fur but rather scaly skin that was a deep burgundy. They moved like a leopard, but the sounds that came from their mouths reminded me of the time I had seen an angry pit bull that had been snarling and snapping at people that came to close to its home.

The faces were rough and burnt looking; black eyes, long teeth, sharp claws and a long menacing tail that held spikes on it. Maybe most terrifying thought was the fact that these two creatures were engulfed in fire. The flames did not reach out, but made them look like they were glowing as they licked the scales that spit them out like tongs.

"Let's see how you deal with my pair of hellcats, Kurama," Aiden mused. "I've learned that a mated pair of them can be fiercer then any demon I could hope to have," he laughed, and I got the sickening feeling that it was a fact and not some guess. Had this man fed his followers to these fire cats?

I sat there on the dirty cave floor watching Kurama fight for his life against two creatures that I quickly learned were the most challenging type of enemy for him. As the fight went on and Kurama tried to use his Rose whip against one of them, it wrapped around the cat's middle and held tight.

A part of me had been waiting for the cat to be cut in half, but instead the green whip caught on fire, the hellcat's inflamed body disintegrating Kurama's weapon in an instant.

"It will not be easy," Aiden said swiftly, voicing the words that I had been thinking. "Your plants can't touch them Kurama. Anything a fire cat touches will be turned to ash if they see it fit to be so."

I remember Kurama telling me stories of demon world over the computer once during the summer before college. He'd told me that spirit beasts were the animals of demon world and that even though some were born through an egg that is nurtured by a human's spirit most of them roam the demonic plains.

He'd said that most of them were very intelligent and seeing as Kurama was a spirit fox at the core of his being, I had believed him, and now I saw two of these creatures and only feet away from me.

There was nothing I could do but pray he would find a way out of this.

Oh, God, he had to find a way out of this.

So I watched and waited as the two hell cats circled Kurama, snarling at him as the redhead eyed them carefully; thinking, planning, finding a way around this. Then they moved. One of them jumped and Kurama jumped back, kicking it in the jaw. It yelped, skidding backwards as the other jumped on him.

I cried out in terror as the cat latched on, slicing into Kurama's shoulder. Pain ran across his face before he grunted as vines shot out of his hair slicing at the cat. It snarled and jumped off licking at the wound on its leg.

"What!?" Aiden's voice was outraged and angered. It echoed through the halls of the caves and hurt my ears. Kurama snuffed at him, straightening.

"You are right in the fact that hell cats can burn almost anything, but they cannot stop things from hurting them if it is fast and sharp. My plants may burn apart, Aiden, but they will pierce their skin first."

I stared at Kurama's wound with fear as blood soaked the shirt around his shoulder wound. I could hardly think, but it occured to me that he was going to win this.

"God damn you, fox demon," Aiden's eyes were like cold steel as Kurama ran at the fire cats again and tried to finish the fight. "You won't win."

From his pocket he pulled out a block like object with three buttons and an antenna on it. My heart skipped a beat; it was the detonator, the one he had told me about. I knew then by the rage in his eyes, he wasn't going to wait till Kurama had beaten the hellcats.

I was on my feet and I was running though the pain that coursed through my arm and side and every place he had hit me. But the fear and sudden urge to perfect Kurama scorched through my veins hotter than any wound.

"Kurama, watch out!" I screamed and raised my shackled hands before jumping Aiden who stared at me, startled. The chain wrapped around his neck as I smacked into him, looping my legs around his waist from behind and pulled back on my wrists, pulling the chain tight.

Aiden let out a breathless curse, his free hand grabbing the chain and preventing me from choking him like I had been hoping to. "You little bitch!" he snarled and I slammed my elbow into his shoulder making him hiss.

I looked up to see Kurama staring at me, shocked, but I could see something in his eyes I couldn't quite understand.

Pain shot through my system suddenly and something wet ran down my chest and down my torso. Blinking a bit I looked down, confused , before I saw the hole on my collar bone, blood running from it, the edges charred like my arm.

I swallowed and looked up in shock as Kurama stared back, obviously angry. I smiled a bit, I didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't feel anything. Aiden growled as my legs went limp letting go. He yanked on my chain and swung me over him before throwing me to the side. I smashed into the ground and lay there, staring at the scene in front of me as blood dripped on to the ground. I could feel nothing as I watched Aiden say something and hit the controller in his hand. Moments later the whole cell exploded.

My eyesight was failing me again at I stared at the broken cell, smoke and debris was all I could see either way. Aiden was standing there with a smug look about him, sure he had won.

This couldn't be happening. Kurama couldn't be gone. If he was then there was no point of hoping that I was going to live either. Even if by some miracle I made it out of here I wasn't sure I would know what to do with myself.

I could feel the blood from my wounds pooling under me. Two types of terror reached my heart and made it hard to breathe. One was the thought of Kurama being dead, broken in that cell. The mere thought of it made me feel sick and disoriented. The other was the realization that I was dying, with so much blood leaving my body I wouldn't sure how much longer I had.

As the images went blurry on me, I stared at the smoke only to see what looked like wisps of silver lacing through it. There was a certain kind of crackling energy forming in the air, one that I could not place and one that I was surprised that I could even feel. I wasn't spiritually aware in any way, but the energy was so intense that it was visible making a harmless plume of dust and smoke look deadly.

I heard Aiden curse and saw his blurry form step backwards as a dark figured moved out of the debris – no not dark, but pale and silver.

My heart stuttered and I found my conscience mind cheering in joy. He was alive and Youko Kurama was standing. His shoulder and side were bleeding, but he was standing. He was definitely alive. His face was dirty and his features were pulled tight in anger as he stepped forward. I saw him glanced to me, worry flicking through his face before his eyes focused on Aiden, who looked stunned.

"H-How?" he breathed taking another step backwards. Kurama growled raising a long pale hand.

"Because just like your father you underestimated me, Aiden. I will show you no mercy."

He moved forward then, but my eyes failed me completely and I was swallowed into darkness, only hearing that sounded far off but what I knew to be only feet from me.

Explosions.

Screaming.

Splattering.

Cursing.

Falling.

A high pitched sound and then a dull, ominous 'thud'. And then, there was nothing but silence.

I wondered if I had died at that moment because it was so silent; my pain was not there, so maybe I was dead, though I couldn't be sure. After all I was thinking, and I had been told that when you die you see everything, that you become a ghost and that you see your own body and everything that's going on around you.

All I saw was darkness though, and I wondered in the back of my mind if I'd gotten the short end of the stick.

Then a voice pulled me back.

"Alana, can you hear me?" Kurama. That was Kurama's voice; joy flooded my half numb mind. He was alive; oh, thank God he had not died. If he was here then that meant only one this: Aiden had to be dead.

"Alana, open your eyes, come on, please do it for me, I know you can do it." His words, so desperate, and yet they held an order to them that couldn't be refused.

Slowly I forced my eyes back open; the images around me were very dull, very out of focus... but I could see Kurama, his demonic form still there as Youko, his golden eyes staring me from above me.

He smiled a bit and sighed. "Oh, God, Alana, I'm so sorry," he muttered, and reached his hand out to my face and stroked the side of it. I tried to say something, my mouth must have opened, but I could not get my voice to work.

That was right, I was still dying. I was past the point of being able to talk, let alone see very well. I was going to die, I knew that then, but at least he was here, he was alive, I could die like this.

He shook his head, silver hair shifting over his shoulders as if he was denying the truth. "I won't let you die," he said firmly. "We have too much to do, too much to talk about with each other." He bent down closer to me and my eye sight failed me again, though I was sure my eyes were still open.

"I love you," he whispered and something wet touched my shoulder. "I won't leave your side ever again, and this will prove it. I hope that this is what you want as well."

I was so confused at this point; of course I wanted to be with him...

And then there was a sharp pain. Something dug into my flesh at the junction of my neck and shoulder, something wet trickled down it and all the other pains faded away. Then as soon as it came the pain faded and warmth spread through me.

It was at that point that a distant memory came to mind, fuzzy as it was. It was before this whole mess, it had been a relaxing conversation with Reka...

"_**But how?" I pondered that for a moment suddenly seeing a senile old women standing next to Youko and cringing mentally.**_

_**Reka hummed a bit finishing her cone. "He'll Mark you." I blinked, confused by the term. She giggled at the face I made. "It's like a demon's wedding ring. The male normally bites the female and leaves a tattoo like marking where ever the bite is." I frowned looking at her. It was a little odd but I could see the benefits to it. For one you couldn't lose it.**_

"_**But how would that make me live as long as him?" Reka shifted a bit getting comfortable.**_

"_**Well because you're human, there is a kind of side effect when you're marked," she frowned a bit trying to find the best way to explain it. "You see even though you're human, you have demonic genes hidden in your DNA – they're just not active so it's like they don't exist. When a human is marked, the venom used to make the mark also kind of awakens the demonic genes and thus turns that person into a demon. Though the process of that can be a bit painful at times the burst of demonic energy heals any wounds you might have. It's really an interesting process."**_

It clicked for me then, as something ran over the spot; wet and rough. I wanted to feel my thoughts on this, to try and comprehend it, but I was loosing myself to darkness and that made me panic.

"Don't worry," Kurama's voice muttered. "you'll be fine now. Sleep, Alana."

As if on commanded my unseeing eyes must have closed and I slid into the warm darkness with no worries at all.


	7. Chapter 7: Life goes on

wow this by fair is the longest it has taken me to write something. I guess it becuase this is the last chapter in Alana's story! Enjoy and look below for details on other things coming up!

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Chapter Seven:

Live on

The lighting struck over Gendara with vengeance, leaving dramatic shadows on building and faces every time it lit up the land. Two guards stood in front of the palace entrance. One was almost like a minotaur, his legs dense with fur and his feet replaced with hooves, he wore no shirt, just the lower armor for his legs and torso, large thick horns stuck out from behind his ears. He yawn stretch his ratty tale swishing.

"Can you believe that meeting today?" he said looking to his partner.

The tiger like demon blinked leaning on the wall, his black skin and white stripes barely showing under the blue and gray uniform he wore. He brushed back white hair and looking to the Minotaur.

"Yeah, the general has made it easy to communicate with the other two former nations."

It was true that demon world was ruled by the King now, but all three former rulers still kept their land, and acted as branches of the government; Mukuro was in charge of the patrol team, the monks of the former ruler Raizen worked to keep the peace in towns around demon world, and Yomi used his people to find and stop any rebel troupes trying to bring back the old ways.

"With Lord Yusuke and Lord Hiei both being close to general Kurama it's much easier to stay informed."

The tiger smirked. "It seems ever since he came back here things have been so much better. Lord Shura is still young and needs all the help he can get. General Kurama and Lord Yomi are the best teachers he could have for when he takes control over this land."

The Minotaur snorted a bit looking up as he saw something in the air, only to blow it off. Just a bird. "Best of all, the general brought the beauty with him makes the palace so much better," his friend laughed a bit.

"Ah you mean the Lady. You best not talk of her that way. She is mated and the King of thieves is not keen on sharing. Don't you remember the last troop meeting?" Both men shivered.

"Hey it gives me something to look at," he stomped his hooves.

"What does?"

Both men froze, looking forward as she landed. Alana stood in front of them, her copper hair now tinted with red. Red brown wings were slowly beginning to fade away, the shape of feathers on her skin were disappearing and leaving her pale skin untouched.

To think they had thought it was just a bird. They should have known better, Lady Alana was a creature shape shifter. She could be any spirit beast she wanted to be, and the red fire bird seemed to be one she favored at the moment.

The Minotaur swallowed before grinning and rubbing his neck. "Welcome back my lady, I was just talking about the sky, it is being more active than normal."

Alana smiled a bit looking behind her. "Ah well, yes it is. Don't get to distracted, there are rebels still around."

"We shall not miss a single movement ma'am!" The tiger said calmly. Alana nodded her head a bit.

"Well then, I shall leave you to it."

With that Alana walked into the castle.

The whole scene was a bit amusing to Yomi as he stood at the large window that over looked the front gate. His eyes may have been closed to the world but his ears were much better as he heard the tiger laugh and turn to his friend.

"Close call, eh?"

Amusing, it seemed that in the last ten years things had been just that. Kurama might have rejected his offer at first but he had known his old friend would come back to demon world at some point, and when he did, he'd need a place to be. So he kept his tabs on his old leader.

At first Yomi had been surprised to find out that Kurama had taken a mate, and he hadn't been sure it was true. But, after reports of the girl came back, he became a believer.

Alana was a nice assistant to him, and she truly seemed to care for the fox demon. With her power of transformation, she would have made a good spy back when the kingdoms were split and at war with each other. Even now she would be a good spy to find rebels. Now though, she only did errand work for people in the castle.

He turned away from the window, sighing. Of course, even if things were the way they had been, he guessed Youko probably would have never allowed it; he seemed to be as possessive as ever.

"It seems your mate has returned Youko. Also it appears she still has many admires even after your threat to them," he informed his general, getting a low annoyed growl in return from a few feet from him.

The silver fox demon was sitting, or rather lounging, on a chair his ears twitching and going back slightly with the last piece of news. "Your men must have death wishes, Yomi".

Yomi chuckled "Calm yourself, I believe Alana took care of it quiet well." The fox demon snuffed and crossed his arms.

Yes they had been here ten years now, but as Yomi thought about his tabs on his old friend he had barely realized that Kurama had stayed in human world for almost fifty years, waiting for his family ties to be gone before shedding his human form and returning to demon world with Alana as he had predicted.

Before his mother passed on, Yomi had been surprised that Kurama had told her the truth about himself. He wondered quietly if the guilt of tricking her had been too much for him over the years, or if Alana and convinced him to do so. Neither had been true: it was just that they had not been aging much. Even with a human body once he hit his thirties, Kurama's body stopped getting older. There had been no choice, and after Shiori's bit of disbelief she had hugged her son and that had been it. Nothing changed between them but, everything seemed much lighter and easier in Kurama's life.

Yomi sometimes wondered if the fox had made the right call but, human life spans are short and soon enough Shiori passed away in her sleep. Less than a year later Kurama returned to his home land.

The room remained silent except for Youko's grumbling. Yomi felt like rolling his eyes; it seemed even with all his years of being a human some traits were impossible to get rid of. The horned demon shifted, listening to Alana's footsteps as she walked down the halls of the castle. She entered her and Kurama's chamber and set down her things before walking into the bathroom.

"While we wait for her to appear why don't we play a game?" Youko rolled his eyes watching the demon as he sighed and straightened in his seat. If he was offering Alana would be not be coming straight away.

He did not answer and yet Yomi walked over with a chess board in hand setting it down, the fox demon sighed knowing he had no way out of it. "Yusuke believes that there might be an uprising in the rebels, they miss the taste of human flesh."

Yomi had already known this; he had not been at the meeting but it had been in the castle so he had heard it. He nodded his head as he set the pieces up, taking the black for himself. "So I've heard. What do you believe should be done?"

Kurama frowned as he watched the demon sit down. As he looked to the board and moved his first piece he spoke: "There are not many rebels, there is no need for us to really get involved… though I would put more guards on the border just to be safe."

Yomi nodded and though his eyes were closed as always he took his first piece and moved it to the center of the next square. "Then that is it?" he frowned a bit annoyed at his general's voice. He was keeping him waiting.

The pair moved one piece each once more before the fox spoke. "Tomorrow I will ask Alana to take a message to Hiei. He has offered to take them down if he gets their location. "

"Oh I will now, will I?" the humorous voice made the fox demon freeze his tail puffing up. Yomi smirked and the fox glared at him, of course he had already know she was there...

Kurama got up and walked over to Alana who was leaning on the door frame arms crossed. Yomi 'watched' with closed eyes as the fox walked over and nuzzled the girl's neck. She snorted a bit. "You're a cheater," she grumbled reaching up and rubbing an ear.

"Sorry," the fox muttered smirking a bit.

"No you're not."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

Kurama huffed a bit and she laughed. "It's fine, I don't mind," she shrugged a bit before looking to Yomi. "All is fine at the borders; there had been little activity today. I don't mind doing the errand tomorrow, this way I can see how Reka is doing."

Youko snorted. He still didn't understand her fascination with the fire demon.

Yomi nodded his head and without another word Alana turned, walking out the door, the fox demon right behind her. Yomi hummed a bit and turned back around, resetting the chess board.

Kurama followed Alana back to their room and when they were past the door his plants lined the walls and acted as sound canceller. He walked over to where she was looking out the window, light flashing into it. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck slightly.

Alana rolled her eyes. "I'm not angry at you."

"I know that, I just want to."

She smiled a bit. "Alright."

Youko simply held her after that watching out the window as well. Alana sighed a bit snuggling closer, her thoughts elsewhere. In all this time she still wondered how things had turned out, but as she felt the arms around her tighten she smiled to herself.

"I love you," he murmured, and Alana grinned a bit reaching behind her and rubbing an ear again, hearing him sigh and tilt his head into her hand.

"I love you too, and you know I always will."

As Alana looked back out at the sky, with her mate behind her, in a protective hold, she knew it was a promise that would be kept forever.

~End~

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So this story is over, short i know, but i make a habit of not having long sequals, short and sweet.

Any way story news! I'm taking a small break for the Yu Yu world mostly becuase right now besides one story still in the making, i have no ideas for it. lol In its place i'm working on A Ouran High School Host Club fanfiction! woot. lol so if i was anyone left watching me, please leave reviews on this story but also tell me what you think of the new topic! thanks for reading!


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